Where the Elite Eat

The deal may begin on the golf links and end at the attorney's office, but it's often sealed over a meal.

In New York, the powerful and elite hold court at the Royalton and the Four Seasons, while in Las Vegas, they chow down at California Pizza Kitchen and Carson Street Cafe.

This month's closing of Poppa Gar's, the established breakfast spot for long-time politicos, seems to signify a shift in the table tops where Las Vegas' movers and shakers wield their salt and pepper shakers.

While Las Vegas still hosts some of the more casual spots for business dining, the most favored up-and-coming spots -- from Freddie G's to Frogeeze on Fourth -- show that the town is becoming ever more cosmopolitan in its cuisine.

Still, some eclectic choices do remain: the Liberty Cafe in the White Cross Drug Store on Las Vegas Boulevard, the casual Coffee Pub, Sonia's Cafe & Rotisserie, and even the Olive Garden in Henderson, which attracts its share of local celebrities, such as Gladys Knight and Montel Williams.

This reflects the dichotomy of power lunch places: the wine and dine, dress-to-impress lunch and the roll-up-your-sleeves and get-to-work lunch.

Rod Scheele, a local wine distributor entertaining his client, Doug Goldsby of the Gallo Winery, at the bustling Freddie G's earlier this week, would be a fan of the latter. His basic requirements: "You want enough room where you can lay your stuff, not gourmet food, something you can just shove in your mouth, and a noisy atmosphere, so people can't eavesdrop."

But others say the atmosphere of a Chili's and Applebee's may play for middle managers, but doesn't cut it for their bosses.

"When you choose an elegant restaurant, it shows respect for the other person," says Van Heffner, president of the Nevada Restaurant Association, who has witnessed major deals going down over a chew and a swallow at the MGM's Coyote Cafe or New York-New York's Il Fornaio. "You're giving the person you're meeting with something to look forward to."

Bringing them in

How does a restaurant attract a power lunch crowd?

For Garland Miner, proprietor of Poppa Gar's for the past 34 years, the answer is simple.

"Giving the people what they want," he says with a shrug. "The best food you can buy, the best service that you can, and that's what it's all about."

All proprietors begin and end by touting the quality of their food. Beyond that, most agree that convenience is key.

"People do not want to travel 45 minutes for a power lunch," Heffner says. "People want accessibility, and will choose a restaurant by the law of propinquity -- near to where you are. When Las Vegas was small, they'd go close in, meet at a place close to the Strip; now there are power luncheons all over town."

That means: downtown attorneys favor Frogeeze on Fourth, California Pizza Kitchen and the Carson Street Cafe; Strip magnates flock to the Coyote Cafe at the MGM or the Palm at the Forum Shops; Howard Hughes Center executives stop off at Freddie G's Deli and Diner or Cozymel's; east-siders hop over to Z'Tejas, P.F. Chang's, or Ruthcris Steakhouse on Paradise; and west-siders gravitate to Cafe Nicolle or the Mayflower Cuisinier.

As Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa confirms, her choice of California Pizza Kitchen, close to her office by Cashman Field, is determined by "location, location, location."

There is a division among power lunch proprietors about whether speed matters.

"You gotta be fast, and you gotta be good," says Mary Jane Jarvis, co-owner of the club-style, year-old Frogeeze on Fourth, which has become a favored spot of dignitaries and politicos, including businessman Richard Schuetz, District Court Judge Jeffrey Sobel and attorneys from neighboring law firms Schreck Morris and Lionel, and Sawyer & Collins.

"They're looking for fast service, they need to get in and out," agrees Monica Barajas, manager of the huge Carson Street Cafe in the Golden Nugget, where judges, juries and even clients, such as accused killer Jeremy Strohmeyer's parents and his attorneys, have been spotted.

But others say the true power luncher isn't always in a hurry.

"These are the bosses, they don't have to be in and out in 20 minutes," says Marcel Taylor, owner of Ruthcris Steakhouse, whose regulars, including IGT executives, Nevada Resort Association President Richard Bunker and former Howard Hughes chief executive John Goolsby, can afford to linger over their lunch-sized steaks.

At the Aristocrat, an intimate continental French dining room tucked inside a west-side strip mall, return diners including Stratosphere developer Bob Stupak, Gov. Bob Miller and computer mogul Bill Gates are drawn back by the tranquil atmosphere, the original oil paintings, the dimly lit room. "Sometimes, people want to get out of the atmosphere of the hotels," proprieter Jan Leenders says.

Perhaps outweighing all other considerations are the demands of the ego.

The ultimate sense of exclusivity is provided by the Las Vegas Country Club's private dining room, open only for members and guests and frequented by players such as UNLV president Carol Harter.

But those who can't crack its iron gates can find plenty of other opportunities for feeding-their-face time.

Ralph Navarino, a manager at Z'Tejas, who has served executives from the Venetian casino, media types, insurance agents and celebrities such as Billy Crystal, Sylvestor Stalone, Siegfried and Roy, and Penn and Teller, says a key part of power lunching is being seen.

"They want to walk in, see other associates of their own, and shmooze," he explains.

"They come to be seen," agrees Greek-born Manny Messologitis, who runs the 8-year-old continental-style Cafe Nicolle with his wife, Nicoletta, and his daughter, Kalliopi. "It's a power place -- we have judges, lawyers, real estate (executives), professors, (UNLV basketball coach) Bill Bayno, UNLV's golf coach (Dwaine Knight), people from City Hall (such as councilman) Mike McDonald, even the mayor -- everybody."

At the California Pizza Kitchen, described by manager Lee Lardner as the "who's who of Las Vegas downtown," the split-level room featuring a "VIP" balcony "lends itself to seeing and being seen" -- especially if you're seated at table 20 or 30, right by the door.

"They like to go where people remember who they are," says Lardner, whose clientele includes bank CEOs, former Circus Circus Chairman Clyde Turner, attorney Oscar Goodman, county commissioners Lance Malone and Myrna Williams "at least once a week," and Judge Lee Gates and his wife, County Commmissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates (although rarely together).

Hosting this "roomful of type-A personalities" can get tricky. Lardner admits to having situations where she has to be "tactful," carefully monitoring political feuds and seating accordingly.

Perhaps the quest for recognition is pursued most zealously at the newly opened Freddie G's, where people can be seen -- even when they're not there. Part of the restaurant's allure is the black and white photos of oldtime Nevadans such as former Sheriff Ralph Lamb, Jay Sarno and former Gov. Grant Sawyer decorating its walls.

Manager Pat Rost explains that when customers see the photos hanging around the restauarant, they often hand in one of themselves to be posted.

The establishment of Freddie G's as a power lunch spot came quickly -- in its one month of existence, thanks to longtime Las Vegan Freddie Glusman, it has already curried favor with celebrities such as Sharon Stone and Chubby Checker, and local businessmen such as Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President Manny Cortez, Fletcher "Ted" Jones and political consultant Sig Rogich.

No matter how powerful the person across the table, one of the beauties to a power lunch is its inherent neutrality.

"At a power lunch, you're on neither person's turf," Heffner points out, "but on equal strength."

archive